Vigils held in Warrington and London to remember Brianna Ghey
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Vigils have been held in Cheshire and across the wider UK to remember Brianna Ghey after she was stabbed to death in Warrington last weekend.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in the town where she was killed as well as central London’s Soho Square on Saturday afternoon to pay their respects to the 16-year-old.
Brianna, who was a transgender girl from Birchwood in Warrington, was found with fatal wounds on a path in nearby Culcheth Linear Park at around 3.13pm on Saturday February 11.
Some of those gathered in Warrington wore rainbow flags draped across their shoulders, laid flowers and wrote tributes on a placard that was placed in the town square.
It comes after another candlelit vigil was held in Culcheth Village Green, near the scene of the stabbing, on Friday.
The vigil, one of dozens to have been organised across the UK, was attended by the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and his daughter Annie.
He tweeted: “Here to remember Brianna, send our love to her family and support to young trans people everywhere.”
Many of the well-wishers wore “rest in power Brianna Ghey” T-shirts with a picture of her on the front.
Tricia Anderton, 59, the secretary of Culcheth Village Choir, said: “We were very proud to play even just a small part of this evening’s vigil for Brianna.
“We are a very close community in Culcheth, with many of our choir members having lived in the village for many years and this awful tragedy has touched the hearts of everyone.
“We were asked specifically to sing Over The Rainbow, and it was so lovely to hear everyone joining in.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Brianna’s family and friends.”
Members of the public also gathered outside the Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham on Friday night, with other vigils taking place in Southampton, Nottingham and Edinburgh.
In a statement released through the police, Brianna’s family said they had been “overwhelmed” by “support, positivity and compassion” from across the country.
A boy and a girl, both aged 15, have been charged with her murder and appeared via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday where a trial date was fixed for July.
Source: independent.co.uk